Status: Proposed. An application or option exists. Nothing has been decided.
Hamilton intends to designate the former Gurnett General Store and Ryerson United Church on Wilson Street East in Ancaster
The City published notices of its intention to designate 280 and 265 Wilson Street East under the Ontario Heritage Act. Anyone who objects has 30 days from publication to file a written objection with the City Clerk.
The details
The two properties
The City of Hamilton published two public notices on October 22, 2026, each stating its intention to designate a property on Wilson Street East in the historic village of Ancaster under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act as a property of cultural heritage value. The notices are dated October 21 and signed by City Clerk Matthew Trennum.
- Circa 1872 two-and-a-half-storey brick commercial building known as the former Gurnett General Store, on a 0.2-hectare lot on the south side of Wilson Street East between Halson Street and Church Street
- A representative rural commercial building influenced by the Italianate style, with buff brick quoining and detailing and decorative keystones; linked to the Gurnett family, who ran a general store in the village from 1830 to 1939
- 1869 one-storey stone chapel, historically the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Ryerson Chapel, now Ryerson United Church, on a 1.0-hectare property on the west side of Wilson Street East north of Halson Street
- A representative rural place of worship with Gothic Revival influences, ashlar and rubblestone walls, pointed-arch openings and leaded stained glass; tied to the United Church in Ancaster and to George Guest, who donated the stone
For both buildings the City also cites contextual value: it says they support the nineteenth-century village character of Wilson Street East and sit on their original locations among other buildings of Ancaster's historic core. The heritage attributes the City lists are largely exterior. For 280 Wilson Street East they are the front and side elevations and roofline of the 1872 brick building, and the City says the contemporary rear additions are not considered to have heritage value. For 265 Wilson Street East they include the front and side elevations and roofline of the 1869 chapel, its datestone, stained-glass windows and stone foundation.
How to object
Under the notices, any person may, within 30 days after the date of publication of the notice, serve a written notice of objection to the proposed designation, with a statement of the objection and the relevant facts, on the City Clerk. The notice does not give a calendar date. Counted from the City's October 22 online posting, 30 days ends on November 21, but the Clerk's office is the authority on how the period is counted. The City says the statements of heritage value and the supporting cultural heritage assessment can also be viewed in person at the Office of the City Clerk, 71 Main Street West, 1st Floor, during regular business hours.
A notice of intention is a step before designation. The notices do not say when the matter will go to Council or the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee, so no decision date is known.
Also posted: by-laws already passed downtown
On the same day the City also posted a notice that on September 9, 2026 Council passed By-laws 26-165 and 26-166 designating 6 Main Street East (the Hamilton Club) and 1401 King Street East (the former Grace Anglican Church) as being of cultural heritage value under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act. Anyone who objects to those by-laws may appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal within 30 days of publication of that notice, by giving the Tribunal and the Clerk a notice of appeal with reasons and the Tribunal's fee, under Section 29(8) of the Act. The notice is dated October 22.